OCR04847 - *YES* StarCraft "Saving Private Raynor"

[Liontamer ⚖️]

Artist Name: jnWake

Collabers: Jabo, Ivan Hakštok.

Yet another Dwelling of Duels track by me. This one comes from february 2025's Katajun Month. Katajun is DoD's former director, who recently left that position. He's a big fan of PC games and even has a cover band himself so the theme was PC Games! One of my favorite games as a kid, and also one of few primarily PC games I've played, is Starcraft, so I took this month as an opportunity to finally cover a track from it. Starcraft music covers a couple different styles for its playable races, with the human race (called "Terran") featuring a mix of progressive rock and spacy synths. Since the game is a RTS, the music isn't super melodic and is more meant as background. Still, each track is quite long and varied so there's a lot of material for remixing!

Source is already kind of prog. rock-ish so for my cover I went with a straight prog. metal style. There's heavy guitars, bass riffs, time signature and tempo changes, sudden transitions into a completely different genre and a lot of synths! My main inspiration was Symphony X but DoD compared it more to Dream Theater.

Track features 2 collaborators. On guitar, we have my usual collaborator Jabo, who happens to be a big Starcraft just like myself (he's even covered Terran Theme One himself for DoD before!). Like always, he did a great job playing all sort of guitar parts, particularly the leads which are always a high point of Jabo's playing. He also helped me find silly samples for one particular transition. On bass we have another usual collaborator in Ivan Hakštok. This track was actually produced in a tight timeframe so we recruited a bass player instead of having Jabo play the bass. Naturally, Ivan completely nailed the part in a couple of days, adding the super fun slap section around the middle. Thanks a ton to both!

To help judging I'll separate the main sections of the original: A - until 0:15 is the intro; B - until 0:45 is melody #1; C - until 1:16 is melody #2; D - until 1:32 is a variation of C; E - until 1:51 is a weird transition with some b5s; F - until 2:37 is the "funky section" and features melody #3; G - until 2:53 is a fun riff; H - until 3:29 is melody #4; I - until the end is a slow chord progression.

And here's my breakdown:

0:00: Based on A, the riffs aren't identical but pretty recognizable.
0:15: Initial part of melody #1 (B) on lead guitar with the intro riff on guitar.
0:29: Full Melody #1 (B) on synths, now on 7/8.
0:56: Melody #2 (C) on guitar.
1:10: Return to the intro and a guitar solo. Chord progression at the end is from C.
1:46: Melody from D with an "original" chord progression.
2:15: Section E, pretty straightforward adaptation.
2:34: Fun transition!
2:37: Funky section! Made even funkier here. At 3:06 melody #3 (and accompanying keyboard lead) play.
3:36: Fun riff (G) plus a keyboard solo on a variation.
4:07: Chords from I.
4:22: Melody #4 (H), tempo raises here for extra urgency.
4:46: Repeat of the 0:29 section for the end.

Hope you enjoy!

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Games & Sources

Source: Terran Theme Two

[prophetik music ⚖️]

opening is indeed adjacent but not quite the same as the intro. that ascending string riff into the melody line is pretty recognizable though! 7/8 for 0:29 is a revelation, i love that change - it emphasizes the already heavily rhythmic approach of the original. i liked the backing feel of the solo especially, and felt that was very Metropolis in feel at least initially.

1:46's new chord progression made a lot of sense and sounds great, especially when it gets harmonized. i wouldn't have minded a bit of vibrato on the lead guitar for a few of these sustains.

2:37's transition was surprising but does make some sense based on how the Terran campaign's music works. the sustains on the initial keys made it sound a bit cheesy, but it quickly settles into a better feel. this section overall feels a little less baked - the bass guitar is kind of far in the back and hard to hear, some of the synths are a little thin, the texture at 3:07 is fine but the lead's pretty light. i liked the solo line over it, especially starting at 3:30.

3:36's transition and backing parts are a bit on autopilot in the drums, and the guitar isn't quite as big as i'd have expected for this section, but i like the transition into the 4:07 section, and that section does a great job of providing some different textures that we haven't really felt. there's a jump into 4:22 as the tempo picks up, and then there's an outro section recapping the 7/8 section from before.

what a fun arrangement overall! the track is so obviously Starcraft that it was very easy to grab onto the arrangement elements and just enjoy the total package. from a mix perspective, my biggest complaint is that i felt that the drums lacked some punch throughout. i would have liked a more present kit, i think, and a more dense kick especially. but the track still rocks and this is absolutely not a dealbreaker. excellent work exploring a classic track.

 

 

YES

[Liontamer ⚖️]

Diggin' the piano at 2:36, and then we get bwomp chicka sweetness along with added string synths at 2:44; fun little detour before going back to rocking out. Hitting the melody with the synth lead for the finish was the perfect nostalgia cap on this one. Just a fun treatment throughout with Jabo and Ivan adding tons of textural depth, and all the requisite Wake synth spices that bring forth life. :-D

YES

[XPRTNovice ⚖️]

I mean Ivan has a long history of absolute quality on this site, so his reputation precedes him despite my attempt to stay neutral. I wasn't disappointed.

I do have a couple of comments that don't put it below the bar, but I think are worth mentioning. First, drumkit. When it's really exposed at the beginning, the samples sound like they're recorded in a box. Once it blends with the rest of the piece, it's fine (though I think it's a bit too precise, see my comment about the piano below as well.) 

I wasn't believing the piano here because it sounds very quantized at 2:45. Prog is perhaps the most precise of the metal subgenres, yes, but to me the drums and piano are really coming off mechanical in this piece. 

Organ solo really needs to come out at 3:00 - it's sweet, but very buried. 

Other than those nitpicks, solid. 

YES